Ile Maurice

Mauritius!
"Mauritius was made first and the paradise was copied after it" Mark Twain, the famous American wrote in his book "Following the Equator".
When you are coming out of the International Airport of Mauritius, you see a huge sign board put up by the airport authority saying “Welcome to Paradise”.

After having seen the entire country, I believed that it is indeed paradise at many places. I came to Mauritius for the first time in 2005 and then in 2006 for professional work. My work again brought me to this beautiful island this year. During last 5 months, I am almost here except a week in August and 2 weeks for Diwali in India. Major advantage for a proclaimed “roamer” like me is that during weekends, entire Mauritius is on holiday. No work at all. Some staunch believers of weekend “chutti” go the extent that they even do not pick up their phones. I take full advantage of this situation and I am ready with all my “roaming” material even before I go to sleep on Friday night! Why I am using this word “roaming” has special reason. In India, when there is no mobile signal, we call it no signal or no network. Here it is called no roaming! In India roaming has different meaning. Here, since the entire island is one circle, there is no roaming as what we understand in India.

On Saturdays and Sundays I am out on some beach or on mountains. Well yes, being an island of volcanic origin, Mauritius has both. The greatest natural advantage Mauritius has is that mostly it is surrounded by coral reef. At very few places the reef does not exist or is broken.
Coral reef gives two advantages to Mauritius. One, it is protected from the violent waves of Indian Ocean. Two, it act as natural filter for the sea water and hence you see very clean and clear water on almost every beach. It is this reef which protected Mauritius from the horrible Tsunami which created havoc few years ago in Indian Ocean region.
The weather in Mauritius is very pleasant throughout the year. In many parts, it rains every day. But not heavy rains like Mumbai but thin showers for few minutes. Some crazy people in India call it “hajam favara”. Mauritius has only two seasons. Summer and winter. Summer roughly from November to April and winter from May to October. Simple!
This year, I had been in Mauritius during entire winter. It was simply great. The temperature goes down to about 18 to 19 degrees C, but due to winds, the cold just chills you down. I chose to walk during the evenings and to see different cities. Due to walking, I did not feel the cold much.
The summer has just started and I am still comfortable because the maximum temperature is about 25 degrees C. The highest recorded temperature here is 35 degrees C. So, for me, it’s no problem at all because I am used to 42 to 45 degrees C in Maharashtra.
All in all, the tip is that, you can visit Mauritius any time during the year. However, if you wish to go in the sea, better visit in summer. If you do not intend to go in sea at all and prefer just to appreciate the beauty of beaches from shore, then visit in winter. Because, in any case, winter is more enjoyable than summer.